Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the current average waiting times are for patients to begin radiotherapy treatment following referral, broken down by region and cancer type.

Answered by Ashley Dalton - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The published data on cancer waiting times in England does not include average waiting times for patients to begin treatment, and the Department does not publish radiotherapy data broken down by tumour type, as we present tumour type and treatment modality breakdowns separately.

However, the Department does publish the 31-day standard performance data for radiotherapy. Whilst the publication does not directly present this data at a regional level, the published commissioner-level data can be aggregated using publicly available mapping tables.

The following table shows 31-day standard performance data for radiotherapy at the regional and national levels, for the latest month of data available at the time of production, November 2025:

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what steps her Department has taken to improve the reliability of rail services that have been returned to state ownership.

Answered by Keir Mather - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)

Public ownership is a vital step towards rebuilding trust and pride in our railways. On average, publicly owned DfT train operators perform better on punctuality and cancellations than those yet to come under DfT ownership. The department expects all operators, public and private, to deliver good performance for passengers.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the performance of free schools compared with maintained schools and academies in terms of educational outcomes.

Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)

Many free schools, run by strong trusts, have contributed to raising standards and achieved strong outcomes for their pupils. However, too many children and young people are still being left behind due to their educational needs or their background.

The department is proceeding with mainstream projects that meet the needs of communities, respond to demographic and housing demand, and raise standards without undermining the viability of existing local schools and colleges. We are backing new schools that offer something unique for students who would otherwise not have access to it. For example, we will open two new maths schools, to give talented students in the North and the Midlands a fairer chance to pursue advanced mathematics.

The department has also announced that we are investing at least £3 billion to create 50,000 new specialist places. To support this investment, we are not proceeding with some mainstream free school projects.

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, pursuant to the written Answer of 29 January 2025 to Question 108043 on Roads: Wildlife, if she will amend Section 170 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 to reclassify cats to ensure drivers are required to stop and report a collision.

Answered by Lilian Greenwood - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury

I understand the distress of owners who lose beloved pets and it is a great source of worry and uncertainty when they are lost.

There are no plans to amend section 170 of the Road Traffic Act to make it mandatory for drivers to report road collisions involving cats.

Having a law making it a requirement to report road collisions involving cats would be very difficult to enforce and we have reservations about the difference it would make to the behaviour of drivers, who are aware that they have run over a cat and do not report it.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to answer 104272 of 14 January on Child Benefit, how many of the 5,637 enquiries which remained open have since been addressed; and what the outcomes were.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

The latest data relating to Child Benefit compliance activity is being quality assured to ensure accuracy. HMRC will write to the Treasury Committee with an update when the work is completed.

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what information her Department holds on how Ofwat calculates the cap on which water companies can increase water bills for customers.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Ofwat published methodology for calculating the price controls that cap water bill increases. Ofwat sets these caps independently through its five‑year price review, assessing companies’ plans and the efficient costs needed to meet Government‑set service and environmental expectations. Money approved for infrastructure can only be spent on upgrades that benefit customers and the environment, and cannot be diverted to bonuses, dividends or executive pay, with requirements for companies to return money to customers if they fail to meet performance commitments. The Government has also secured £104 billion of private investment through Price Review 2024, the largest investment programme in the history of the water sector.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to help ensure that people that do not use TV or radio services do not receive incorrect correspondence about TV licensing.

Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)

The BBC is responsible for collection and enforcement of the licence fee. The Government is therefore not involved in TV Licensing operations.

However, the Government expects the BBC to collect the licence fee in an efficient and proportionate manner. Through the BBC Charter Review we are looking at how collection and enforcement of the licence fee can be made fairer.

Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer 108352 of 29 January 2026 on Child Benefit: Maladministration, if the erroneous suspension of child benefits through the data sharing agreement was raised as part of the weekly feedback sharing; and if she will publish the communication.

Answered by Dan Tomlinson - Exchequer Secretary (HM Treasury)

Mechanisms for sharing weekly management information and feedback from compliance teams were in place. HMRC do not routinely publish information of this nature.

HMRC use international travel data and other checks to help tackle Child Benefit error and fraud, which is expected to save around £350 million over the next five years.

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of (a) issuing and (b) updating travel health advice for Cape Verde on GOV.UK in relation to Shigella infections.

Answered by Chris Elmore - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) regularly reviews travel advice to reflect the latest public health information. The travel advice for Cape Verde was initially updated on 15 December 2025, and most recently updated on 6 February 2026, following notification from the UK Health Security Agency of an increase in reports of both the Shigella sonnei and Salmonella infections in travellers returning from the country. The update advises that individuals with underlying health conditions should seek medical advice before travelling. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will update GOV.UK again if further changes are required.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the appropriateness of maintaining student loan repayment thresholds.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

These loans were designed and implemented by previous governments, and the department is having to make hard choices to balance taxpayer and borrower interests to ensure that the student finance system remains sustainable.

Unlike commercial loans, student loan repayments are linked to income, not to the amount borrowed or interest applied. If a borrower is earning above the repayment threshold and their income stays the same, then their repayments will remain the same.

Repayments are made at a constant rate of 9% above the earnings threshold, and the 9% rate strikes a balance between affordability for graduates and fairness to taxpayers. This is a deliberate government investment in students and the economy.

Those earning below the earnings threshold do not make repayments. Any outstanding loan including interest built up, is cancelled at the end of the loan term with no detriment to the borrower, and debt is never passed on to family members or descendants.